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City council voted to approve the convention center expansion and the new council district map, and also ruled to approve the payday loan ordinance championed by District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal.

The staff at Say Sí plans for a certain theme that can be woven into each show throughout the year. From there, students produce art pieces for a variety of events; Fotoseptiembre is one of those.

"Ok, so the theme of Fotoseptiembre; the theme was decided ahead of time during the project planning, and the theme was 'Stillness in Motion,'" said Nicole Amri, program and outreach coordinator for Say Sí.

Encouraging residents to become fit and healthy has been a major goal for the city, and  San Antonio Independent School District is now joining in. The district is certifying each of its P.E. teachers in Zumba to promote a healthy lifestyle for students and to offer free classes to the community.

San Antonio small business owners and new entrepreneurs don’t have to go it alone. UTSA’s Small Business Development Center works with 35,000 businesses each year, and has now realized an important step in creating a network of trading partners up and down the Western Hemisphere.

According to Bob McKinley, UTSA’s associate vice-president of economic development, San Antonio’s Small Business Development Center sees new opportunities for their clients to go global in Latin America.

With population shifts revealed by the latest census numbers, it was time to re-draw city council districts. David Mendez is the man charged with drawing the new boundaries and making sure everyone has equal representation in San Antonio. The race for Bexar County Sheriff features Democrat incumbent Amadeo Ortiz and Republican Retired Air Force General Susan Pamerleau.

District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal said the reason he wanted to devise a plan to help people pay off their loans is because of the vicious debt cycle that the practice creates.

He said payday lending companies create an almost impossible way for people to get rid of the loan because of high interest rates.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has gone national with his Pre-K 4 SA initiative, proclaiming at the Democratic National Convention that it’s one way he is invested in education for the youngest of his constituents. Castro is counting on the measure to pass in the general election to give thousands of four-year-olds a quality, full-day early education.

Rutgers University’s Dr. Steven Barnett, who is the director for the National Institute for Early Education Research, thinks the program will make a difference, despite what critics say.

“Simplistically said, San Antonio’s population growth during the decade is Hispanic, very much Hispanic," said David Mendez, who has been drawing redistricting maps for more than 30 years.

He said San Antonio is straightforward when it comes to redrawing city council district lines, but what was different for the Alamo City during this census round is where the growth was reported, and who was moving there.

District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor said she wants to remain committed to code enforcement, as many residents had expressed during ten city-wide meetings to identify priorities in the budget.

However, during the voting process Taylor caused a little confusion when she motioned to adopt the budget, with the exception of the line item for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

"She was just recently elected to the board," said City Clerk Leticia Vacek, "after this is voted upon we will have another motion voting for that particular funding."

Business Leaders from San Antonio’s Greater Chamber, Hispanic Chamber, North Chamber and Women’s Chamber, say they are behind Mayor Castro’s Pre-K 4 SA program.

“And we’re behind it for one simple reason," said Richard Perez, "and that is that we want to be known as a city of education.”

Perez, along with Ramiro Cavazos, Larry Anthis, and Dr. Yvonne Katz, spoke of the advantages the program would have with thousands of four-year-olds in the Alamo City.